The seized property is part of the civil forfeiture and criminal action charges brought against Silk Road owner Ross Ulbricht. The total sum of the bitcoins was split into nine blocks of 3,000 and one of 2,657.

However, Ulbricht is still contesting $85 million worth of bitcoins which were also seized, claiming them as his personal property, not assets of the Silk Road marketplace. These coins were not part of the auction.

An administrative error meant that the US Marshals inadvertently revealed the names of some of the bidders, which included auction site Second Market and marketplace Bitcoin Shop.